Cristiano Ronaldo will miss Manchester United’s Premier League trip to Chelsea, the Old Trafford club have revealed.
Ronaldo left the Old Trafford bench before full-time in United’s league win over Tottenham on Wednesday.
The 37-year-old walked down the tunnel in the 89th minute, having remained an unused substitute.
Manager Erik ten Hag had vowed to “deal with” the issue on Thursday.
The United boss has taken the lead on the decision to stand down Portugal star Ronaldo, with full club backing.
“Cristiano will not be part of the Manchester United squad for this Saturday’s game against Chelsea,” read a United statement.
“The rest of the squad is fully focused on preparing for that fixture.”
Ronaldo has cut a divisive figure at Old Trafford this term, struggling for game time and appearing annoyed at having to prove his worth to boss Ten Hag.
The decorated striker had been linked with a summer move away from United but no deal materialised.
Now Ten Hag appears to be ready to take control of the situation, omitting Ronaldo from this weekend’s trip to Stamford Bridge.
Man United v Spurs ratings
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MANCHESTER UNITED RATINGS: David de Gea 7 - By far the quieter goalkeeper in the first half when Spurs didn’t have a shot on target and United had 19. Alert and obviously happy with a clean sheet, but the action was at the other end. EPA -
Luke Shaw 9 - Volleyed a Dalot cross towards goal after 24 in a fantastic spell. Tight into Son to stop him getting space. More touches of the ball – 110 – than any other. On it and playing well. EPA -
Raphael Varane 9 - Kane and Son, they said. Two of the best attackers in football. Varane looked utterly composed all night as he pushed high on to Son, bested Perisic and played areas rather than players and his partnership with Martinez is already a confident one. Clean sheet in the best Manchester United performance for years. Class. Getty -
Lisandro Martinez 8 - Confident and pushed right up as United took it to Spurs. Straight on to Kane when he threatened. Touched a Kane shot which went wide on 49. And again to stop a dangerous Moura ball with ten minutes to play. AFP -
Diogo Dalot 8 - Pushed a ball away from Perisic to stop an early Spurs attack. At the other end, he crossed for Shaw to volley in United’s best first half of the season. Kane smashed the ball into him on 45 and he went down. So assured when he trapped a Kane cross. Reuters -
Casemiro 8 - Super strike which went wide after 28. One misplaced pass led to a rare Spurs attack on 45. Booked after 51 for a challenge. Read Son’s movement superbly. His celebration for Fernandes showed what it meant to him. Peerless positioning. PA -
Fred 9 - Smart ball forward to Antony on six minutes and then had a shot tipped over 30 seconds later. Even better pass to Rashford on 20. Heavily fouled soon after as Spurs realised he was their biggest threat. His deflected shot put United ahead after 46. And what a celebration. Beautiful ball to Rashford on 58. Involved in the second. Six shots on target. Yes, you read that right. EPA -
Bruno Fernandes 9 - His accurate 22nd minute free-kick was well saved by Lloris. Shot over after 26 minutes and integral to much of United’s attacking play. Got the second, and how he’s needed a goal. Put the ball in the net again but it was flagged offside. Nine key passes. No Spurs player had more than two. AFP -
Antony 8 - Audacious attempt on goal after six minutes and he curled a shot which hit the post four minutes later. A danger on the right and continued to be so in the second period. Applauded off. AFP -
Jadon Sancho 8 - Not as involved as the other forwards until he teed Fernandes up after 25, but he was effective out of possession. Five key passes. Struggled to beat a man but playing in that team with that performance must lift his confidence. AP -
Marcus Rashford 8 - Shot saved by after Lloris after 20 – an excellent chance. A further shot was deflected towards Lloris three minutes later. Lively start to second half, a shot saved by Lloris on 47 and then another attack soon after. Looks sharp, fast and confident. Seven shots, three on target. A goal would be nice. Getty -
Scott McTominay 7 - On for Antony after 75 with United at 2-0 and needed to see the game out. Reuters -
Anthony Elanga N/A - On for Sancho after 86. Serenaded in song by the fans. Getty -
Christian Eriksen N/A - On for Elanga after 86. The fear was that he’d be missed, but his teammates did fine without him. EPA -
TOTTENHAM RATINGS: Hugo Lloris 8 – After a shaky start, making a mess of Antony’s shot within the first six minutes, the goalkeeper made several impressive stops to keep Rashford off the scoresheet. A busy evening for the Frenchman, who had little chance with the two goals. AFP -
Cristian Romero 4 – Not a convincing defensive performance. Clattered into Fred to concede a free kick in a dangerous position, but Lloris matched Fernandes’ effort from the set-piece in the first half. EPA -
Eric Dier 6 – Made some important interventions, including a painful block with his face, but at fault for losing possession before Fred’s goal. Getty -
Ben Davies 5 – An attempted block deflected Fred’s strike into his own net, leaving Lloris stranded as his side conceded just after the break. AFP -
Matt Doherty 6 – An average display as the right-back was pinned into his own half after the break. EPA -
Rodrigo Bentancur 5 – After sending an early effort wide, the midfielder was sloppy in possession and was replaced by Skipp in the closing minutes. EPA -
Yves Bissouma 4 – A rusty performance in his return to the side, with the midfielder losing track of Fernandes in the build-up to the second goal. AP -
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg 5 – Looked overrun in the midfield and the Dane was often wasteful on the ball. AFP -
Ivan Perisic 6 – Ventured forward on the left but often lacked the final ball. A heavy touch inside the box squandered a good opportunity in the first half. Substituted in the final stages. AFP -
Harry Kane 7 – Showcased his range of passing with a pinpoint cross-field pass to Doherty in the first half. Had two shots saved by De Gea. Getty -
Son Heung-min 5 – A quiet night for the South Korean who could only fire high and wide from distance in his only sight of goal. Getty -
SUBS: Davinson Sanchez (Bissouma, 82) – N/A. AP -
Ryan Sessegnon (Dier, 82) – N/A. Getty -
Lucas Moura (Doherty, 82) – N/A. Reuters -
Oliver Skipp (Bentancur, 89) – N/A. Djed Spence (Perisic, 89) – N/A. Getty
Ronaldo, a five-time Champions League winner with Real and United, has started only two Premier League games this season, also making six substitute appearances and scoring only one goal.
He also has four Europa League starts and one goal in the second tier competition he was so keen to avoid after United finished outside the Premier League's top four last term.
Since rejoining United from Juventus in 2021, Ronaldo has been a shadow of the figure who starred in his first stint at the club from 2003 to 2009.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner did finish as United's top-scorer last season with 24 goals, but he never appeared settled, clashing with former bosses Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and then Ralf Rangnick.
The final straw came when Ten Hag sent on Christian Eriksen and Anthony Elanga ahead of Ronaldo in the 87th minute against Tottenham.
United still had two substitutions remaining when Ronaldo stormed off.
Ten Hag's decision to drop him from the Chelsea game underlines how he viewed Ronaldo's show of petulance and potentially started a countdown to the end of his time at Old Trafford.
